A day-long tour and schedule of events by senior executives of the Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC) in Oneida County on September 24 “exceeded all expectations and was an unqualified success”, according to Northwoods Broadband Development Coalition (NWBDC) Founder Don Sidlowski. The day began with a 9-11 am meeting of the LinkWISCONSIN Region 2 Team, which was held at the UW-Extension (UWEX) Conference Room located at the Rhinelander/Oneida County Airport terminal building lower level. The some thirty attendees received in-depth briefings and updates by the PSC’s State Broadband Coordinator Dr. Tithi Chattopadhyay and staff members Pete Jahn and Kathy Bakke. This was followed by a report from Professor Andy Lewis of the UWEX Center for Community Technology Solutions (CCTS) on the results of the Region 2 portion of a statewide listening session on broadband conducted over the winter of 2012. The morning session concluded with an update on progress in Region 2 and a review of the region’s broadband investment plan conducted by Sidlowski, who also served as host for the day’s events. PSC Chairman Phil Montgomery arrived in town at Noon in time for a working business lunch at the Rhinelander Pub, after which Chairman Montgomery and Dr. Chattopadhyay were escorted by Sidlowski to the WXPR studios in Downtown Rhinelander for the 1 pm taping of a 30-minute minute “mini-forum” on broadband, in which Sidlowski served as on-air moderator. From there the trio headed up to Three Lakes for a one-hour forum which was held from 2-3 pm in the auditorium of the Three Lakes Center for the Arts. There the three person panel consisting of Montgomery, Chattopadhyay, and Lewis responded to an hour’s worth of questions put to the panel by Sidlowski on the general theme of broadband expansion and adoption as a means of economic development, job creation, growth and retention in the Northwoods. A question and answer session followed the conclusion of the formal portion of the forum, after which members of the media were present to interview the PSC personnel.